


Friends with Benefits

by BremenBunny



Series: Steve Rogers is a lot of things, least of which a national icon [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Daddy Issues, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, High School AU, M/M, Tony is an asshole, Tutoring, and steve doesnt put up with his shit, the way to tony's heart is through his coffee, they have to tutor each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 01:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1964340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BremenBunny/pseuds/BremenBunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony’s having trouble in history, and Steve's having trouble in physics.  Coincidentally, Fury had decided to implement a new tutoring program that would solve both their problems.  As luck (or Fury) would have it, Tony and Steve are assigned to each other.  At first, they can’t stand each other, but once they realize they can’t get through their classes without extra help and that they are both the best at what they do, they finally acquiesce and become tutoring partners - and maybe even more.  Unfortunately, a storm is arriving from Steve's past that might end their budding relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends with Benefits

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the shit summary, I did the best I could. Well, here's another generic high school AU! Hope you guys like it.
> 
> Follow me on tumblr! [anconeus.tumblr.com](http://anconeus.tumblr.com)

Tony’s leg bounced incessantly against the metal leg of his desk as he glared at the clock, willing it to move faster somehow.  The end of 3rd period was nearing, but not nearly fast enough for Tony.

3rd period was his history class.  As much as everyone called him a genius, the one thing he couldn’t stand was history or anything relating to it.  Even the interesting (and slightly/completely evil) teacher did nothing for the teen.

At the moment, the teacher, Mr. Laufeyson, was recounting the events of the imperial age.  Tony tried to keep his head up off the desk, he really did, but it was a matter of seconds before Laufeyson caught him nodding off.

“Stark!” came the menacing bark from the front of the classroom.  Tony jolted awake, sending the few things he had on his desk flying.  His fellow classmates were collectively snickering at him.  He resisted the urge to give them all the finger.

Laufeyson was making his way slowly to Tony’s desk, slinking along the aisles with an almost predatory look.  “This is the third time this week.  I think a visit with Fury is due, don’t you?”  He then turned to look at Tony, a feral smile occupying his face.

“I don’t know, is it?  I wasn’t disrupting the class,” Tony huffed, sticking out his chin defiantly.  Laufeyson simply smiled and went to open the door.  “If you know what’s best for you, you’ll gather your things and haul ass.”  No one in the classroom missed the anger glinting in the history teacher’s eyes.  Grumbling, Tony picked up the things he’d dropped and walked out the door to the principal’s office, but not without raising his middle finger in the direction of his history classroom once Laufeyson had closed the door.

Once he got to the main office, the secretary rolled her eyes as if to say, “again?” and nodded towards a row of three empty chairs directly outside of the principal’s office.  Sighing, Tony sat on one of the chairs and threw his things into the chair next to his.

A few minutes later, the door flew open to reveal the menacing view of principal Nick Fury in all his single-eyed glory.  Fury simply looked down assessingly at Tony for several unnerving moments until he opened the door a bit wider to let the student in.

“What is it this time?” Fury sighed, rubbing his temples after he got settled into his uncomfortable looking chair.

“What makes you think that I did something?  Maybe Laufeyson was being a dick again.”

“Cut the crap, kid.  Why are you here?”

“Fine.”  Tony crossed his arms and reclined into his own uncomfortable plastic chair.  “I was falling asleep in history again.”

Fury’s headache seemed to be getting worse, both his hands now rubbing his face vigorously.  “Loki loves to bother me, doesn’t he?  The bastard.”

“Probably.  That and he doesn’t want to deal with me himself.”

“Did I ask you a motherfucking question, Stark?”

“Well, yeah - “

“It was rhetorical!  God!”  Fury reached for the aspirin this time, popping a couple into his mouth dry.

“Anyways, we’re going to have to do something about the narcolepsy you keep getting in history.  And since plying minors with drugs isn't legal, I guess I’ll have to give you a tutor.”

“A what?!”  Tony jumped forward in his chair, bracing his hands against the armrests.

“Calm the fuck down!  You know just as well as I that your grades in Laufeyson’s class are in the shitter.  You’re going to have to either get them up in the few months we have left in the year or end up retaking that credit.  Do you want that?  Huh?  Do you want another whole year with Laufeyson on your ass?”  With each question he asked, Fury’s anger visibly ramped up.

“No,” Tony grumbled, settling back into his former position.

“Good.  Now, here’s how this is gonna work.  I give you a tutor, and in exchange, you gotta tutor him as well.”  When it looked like Tony was about to protest, Fury held up a hand and continued.  “This is part of a program I’m calling the ‘exchange initiative’.  This way, neither of you will have to pay for tutoring services.”

“But I have the money!”

“Did I say this was for your good?  No. The kid I’m assigning you needs this just as much as you do, and he doesn’t have the money for a real tutor.”  Fury put down his hand, and that was that.

Tony knew he was being silently dismissed, so he grabbed his bag and barely refrained from stomping out of the room.  “Tutoring, my ass,” he hissed under his breath, just loud enough for Fury to hear as he slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Steve stared down at the paper Dr. Foster had set on his desk, trying to figure out how he was going to any of the things listed on that worksheet.  “All right!” the physics teacher exclaimed, clapping her hands together.  “Everyone, remember we have that quiz in two days!  Make the most of the time and finish those worksheets.  If you have a question, don’t be afraid to ask!”  And with that, Dr. Foster took a seat at her desk and pulled out her phone.

It wasn’t that she was a lazy teacher - she was just a bad one.  Despite her doctorate and intelligence, Steve could never follow what was going on in the class.  Things had only gotten worse when she started going out with the phys ed teacher who’d been courting her for months.  She never stopped texting Mr. Odinson, even during classes.

Steve was loath to complain about such a nice teacher, even if his grades were starting to plummet.  The only thing he could do at this point was to find outside help.

For now, his attention had to be turned to the worksheet the class had just gotten.  It was filled mostly with conceptual problems - “How fast will a particle of light travel in a vacuum?”  “If an object is placed twice the focal length away from a concave lens, how far away is the object image from the object?”  Both these questions had Steve inordinately confused.

Since he couldn’t answer any of the questions, Steve spent the rest of the period doodling in the margins.  The only thing making him feel better about his colossal failure in physics was the fact that after this he had lunch and studio art.  When the bell finally rang, he stuffed the godforsaken worksheet into his bag and was the first one out the door.  Dr. Foster was still texting away and giggling.

During lunch, Steve waited at the usual table for Sam and Peggy to arrive.  Just as he was pulling out his lunch, Sam came out of nowhere and plopped himself down across from Steve.

“How’s it goin’, Cap?”  Sam started arranging the food he bought from the cafeteria neatly.  Steve looked up with an uneasy smile and replied, “I think I might be failing physics.”

“You say that all the time, Steve.  I’m sure you’re just exaggerating.”  From behind him, Steve heard Peggy’s voice.

“Not anymore, Peggy.  Have you seen my grades?”  Steve put down the sandwich he was demolishing and stared down at it morosely.  “My mom got sick, too.  I don’t want her to have to worry about yet another thing.”

Peggy frowned at him and began rubbing soothing circles on his back.  “It’ll turn out fine, Steve, I’m sure.  Both for you and your mum.”

“If you’re that worried about your physics grade, why don’t you talk to Fury?”  Sam suggested with his head cocked to the side.  “I saw on the morning announcements he was starting some kind of tutoring program.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen it, too,” Steve nodded absently.  “Do you remember if he said how much it cost?  I don’t think we can afford to pay for a tutor and the hospital bills.”

“It’s free, Stevie.  As long as you tutor your tutor in another subject,” Peggy supplied while unwrapping her sandwich.

Excitedly, Steve tore through the rest of his food.  “I’m going to go talk to Fury right now.  I’ll see you guys later.”  He grabbed the trash from his lunch and waved a hasty good-bye to Sam and Peggy, who both looked amused and concerned.  “He’s just like a puppy, isn’t he?” Peggy asked, smiling.  Sam nodded, grinning fondly.

When he burst into the main office, the secretary looked pleasantly surprised to see him.  “Is Principal Fury free right now?”  He asked, trying not to bounce on the balls of his feet with excitement.  “Yeah, honey, he’s in.  Why don’t you take a seat right there?”  The secretary, a miss Darcy Lewis, if Steve remembered correctly, pointed towards the chairs outside of Fury’s office with a letter opener.

It was only a few seconds before the door to Fury’s office opened.  “Come in, Steve,” the principle bellowed from inside the room, motioning to the chair across from him.  “What can I do for you?”

“I’m, uh, here about the tutoring program you were showing on the morning announcements.”

“Goddamn finally!  Someone who actually watches the damn thing.”  Fury groused before turning another smile onto Steve.  “So you’re interested?  I knew you’d be.  I’ve talked to Dr. Foster, and she’s worried about your performance in your class.”

Steve gulped, nodding.  “And it doesn’t cost anything, right?  I appreciate you wanting to help me out like you did with the art show competition, but I can take care of myself.”  Steve stared at Fury with his jaw jutting out, not liking the feeling of being a charity case.

Fury laughed, shaking his head.  “It’s completely free, Rogers.  In fact, I’ve already got you paired up with one Tony Stark.  I’m sure you’ve heard of him,” the principal smiled, folding his hands in front of him.

Tony Stark?  Of course Steve had heard of him.  Who hadn’t?  He blew up the science room in sophomore year and his father was one of the most respected teachers in the school.  Stark also never had a shortage of people on his arm, regardless of gender.  The only two constants in his social life, as far as Steve could tell, were his best friends, Pepper and Rhodey, who were much more sensible and much less flashy than he.

He was also, admittedly, a genius.  Steve wondered what Tony could possibly need help in.  As if he read Steve’s mind, Fury spoke up.  “He needs help in history.  Which should be no problem for you.”  And it wasn’t.  Steve was Mr. Laufeyson’s student aid and had won the end-of-the-year award for excellence in social studies.

“Stop looking so lost, kid.  Take this.”  Fury handed Steve a small slip of paper.  “What’s is it?”  “Stark’s contact information.  You should probably talk to him face to face first.  He can get a little paranoid.”  Fury shook his head, chuckling, then got up to open the door for Steve.  “Thanks, Principal Fury,” Steve said tentatively, stalling a bit in the doorway.  

“No problem.  Now, I don’t want to see you here soon, you understand me?”  Fury’s words were belied with a hint of kindness.  Steve just nodded happily and practically skipped out the doorway.

Fury sidled up to Darcy’s desk.  “Cute kid.  Wish he’d come more often,” the secretary said, checking her nails.  “What, you want him to get in trouble more often?”  “Uh, yeah.  The kid needs to loosen up.”  Darcy huffed, stretching in her chair.  “You’re not wrong,” Fury sighed, walking leisurely back to his office.

* * *

“Look.  I don’t want to be here, and I know you don’t either -”

“But… I do?”

“No, you don’t.  If we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to lay some ground rules.  First off, you don’t cut me off while I’m -”

“Oh, so you’re making all the rules, huh?”  
Tony sighed in frustration.  “Yes, I am.  I’m the one giving you physics help, aren’t I?”

“But - I’m tutoring you, too!”

“Yeah, but physics is way more important than some shit AP world history class.  So I get to decide things.”

“I just don’t think this is very fair!”

“Oh yeah?  Tell that to the fucks I give.  Oh, wait, there are none.”

The two of them came to a standstill, arms crossed and eyes staring each other down.  “Look,” Steve sighed, ever the negotiator.  “All I want to do is pass physics.  And I’m sure all you want is to pass world history.  We don’t have to become friends, we don’t have to even like each other, but for these two hours, can we just try not breaking anything?”

“Sure thing, boy scout,” Tony rolled his eyes, sitting back in his chair.  They were currently at a local starbucks, their shouts having brought the attention of everyone else in the small shop.  When Steve realized this, he tried to sink further down into his chair, a blush starting to bloom across his cheeks.  “Let’s just get this over with,” he mumbled, taking out his books from his backpack.

An hour later, Steve was barely grasping the concepts of waves and optics.  Sure, Tony knew his stuff - Steve wasn’t sure why he was even in public school - but he couldn’t have cared less.  Whenever Steve asked a question, Tony groaned and gave only the most paltry of answers.

When his hour was up, Tony immediately slammed the physics textbook shut and slid the AP world history textbook forward.  “What - what was that for?!” Steve hissed, trying not to raise his voice.

“Time’s up, boy scout.  It’s time for you to teach me.”

“But - but - I still don’t get it!”

“And it looks like you’ll never get it.  Learn when to quit, blondie.”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Look, I taught my hour, so it’s time for you to teach yours.  It’s what we agreed on, right?”

It was, but Steve didn’t know Tony would be so exacting.  “Fine,” he gritted out, opening the textbook to the unit they were learning this week.  “What do you remember from class?”

“Honestly?  Nothing.  I kind of slept through the entire period.”  Though his words would have sounded sheepish coming from anyone else, from Tony they just sounded flippant.  “So I was hoping you could catch me up on everything.”

“Normally, I would be happy to.  But everything?  You have a unit test next monday, Tony!”

“Yeah, so we better get started.  Just letting you know, the hour hasn’t started yet, Rogers.  You’re not wasting any time by arguing, just daylight.”

Steve sighed, rubbing his temples and counting to ten slowly in his head.  “Then why don’t we start?”  He said, hissing through gritted teeth.  “So, when the European powers took over Africa…”

* * *

 

After an hour, Tony still had no idea what he was supposed to be learning.  He was too busy nodding off, and he was a master at sleeping with his eyes open.  Steve looked like he knew Tony wasn’t listening, but he plowed on anyway, talking about something like how imperialism still impacted Africa today - it all went completely over Tony’s head.

“Tony!  Tony, the hour’s up.  Did you have any questions?”

“Yeah,” Tony said, stifling yet another yawn.  “What were you saying for the past hour?”

Steve looked like he was about to explode, his face was turning so red.  As adorable as it was usually, it was actually kind of scary when the boy scout looked like he was about to say a swear or not hold the door open for someone.

“I can’t do this anymore.  I - I really just can’t.”  Steve grabbed his things and slung them over his shoulder, storming out of the store.  Tony made no move to go after him, sipping leisurely at his fourth cup of coffee.

“Smooth, Stark,” said a voice behind him.  Startled, Tony turned his head to see principal Fury glaring at him over this week’s issue of the New York Times.

“What?  I taught him for an hour, and he taught me for an hour.  If nothing comes out of it, it’s not my fault.”  He crossed his arms, levelling Fury with his own glare.

“Listen to me, you privileged little bastard.  That kid actually cares about his grades.  He doesn’t have a rich daddy to pay off any college he wants to go to after he graduates.”  Fury’s one good eye bored through Tony’s skull, making the student back down slightly.

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to try actually caring.  That is, if Steve is willing to come back to your sorry ass.”

“He’ll be back.  He can’t pass physics without me.”

* * *

He didn’t come back.  In fact, Steve took his test without any further help from Tony.  Likewise, Tony took his test without help from Steve.  Unsurprisingly, they both got less than desirable grades.

After school, Steve was already in Fury’s office when Tony burst in.

“Dammit, Stark, didn’t Darcy tell you to wait outside?”

“Yeah, screw waiting.  You,” Tony pointed at Steve, “need to help me.”

“Why should I?  You weren’t willing to help me.”

“And I’m sorry.  What, do you want me to start kowtowing?”

“A real apology would be nice,” Steve huffed, defiance glinting in his eyes.

“Take this outside, boys,” Fury drawled, looking bored.  The two of them left the principal’s office and continued their conversation.

“Fine.  I’m really, truly sorry.  I’ll make it up to you.” Tony didn’t look like he was sorry at all, but Steve took what he could get.  Sighing, he replied, “It’s alright.  We’re going to have to have more than two hour sessions from now on, though.”

“Anything you want,” Tony nodded, strangely agreeable.

Steve finally smiled, getting up slowly.  “So, we have a deal?”

“Yeah.  My house, after school tomorrow.  You can wait at the flagpole, you’ll be picked up.”

“Picked up?”  Steve asked, puzzled.  “You don’t ride the bus?”

“Really, Steve?  You think my dad would let me ride the bus?”  Tony had a point.  Mr. Howard Stark, the school’s applied science teacher, was notorious for being the very picture of an eccentric billionaire.

“Alright, I got it.  Flagpole right after school?”  Steve asked, just to make sure.

“Yup.  A limo will pull up to get you.”

“A limo?!”

“I said I’d make it up to you, didn’t I?”

“But -”

“Just roll with it.  Happy refuses to drive anything but the limo.”

“Happy?  Who’s Happy?”  Steve asked, getting more and more confused by the second.

“My chauffeur.  Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite.  He might try making small talk.  If you get bored, there’s beer in the mini bar.”  
“I’m not of legal age, Tony!”  Steve hissed, trying not to get swept up in Stark’s fast pace.

“Since when did that stop anyone?”

“Since it was illegal!  You know what, I’ll just take the bus there.”

“The bus doesn’t go up to my house, it’s way out of town.”

“Remind me again why you bother going to this school?”

“My dad.”

“And why does he teach here instead of a university?!”

“He says he doesn’t like the kids who think they know everything just because they’ve lived on their own for a few years.”

“I - fine.”  Steve visibly gave up, shoulders slumping.  “I’ll be there.  Anything else I should know, as a commoner?”

“Just one thing.  When you get to the house, let my butler show you the way.  You’d be surprised how easy it is to get lost in my house.”

“Something’s telling me I wouldn’t be surprised at all,” Steve sighed, under his breath, and nodded.  “See you tomorrow, Stark.”

“Don’t call me Stark.  Sounds like you’re talking to my dad.”

“Whatever you say, Tony,” Steve shook his head disbelievingly and made his way out of the main office.

“What crawled up his ass and died?”  Tony said to himself, walking in the opposite direction to meet Happy in the parking lot.  This was going to be the worst year of his high school career, Tony was sure of it.

 

 


End file.
